In reading their examples I came to realise that this is one good habit that I do have. (I should be a little thinner than I am then!) I do help others. I help friends and family whenever I can, preparing dinner, cleaning up after a meal, and planning some events, etc.
We may not be the most ethical shoppers around; I do have the “occasional” stop at Wal-Mart (yeah! I know… but I’m cheap!) I don’t buy Fair Trade coffee (I don’t drink any!), but at Easter I chose some Fair Trade chocolate! I sponsored a few friends in their fund-raising events. I recycle old shoes, clothes, etc., and give them to a local charity.
In the last few years we’ve become more aware of the environmental issues. Just this past weekend when we were hiking, we stopped for a little break on top of the mountain and some people before us had left an empty bottle on a picnic table. Hubby took it and put it in his backpack to bring out of the woods. On our way there was some litter and we picked that up as well. He used to do that as a mountain biker as well, and he often say "Always leave the woods cleaner than whne you came in", or something like that. Neither one of us were scouts as kids, but I guess we have that "respect thing"...
We have been recycling for years, started out with papers and now we’ve expended our realm of the things we just don’t throw out like old batteries, printer cartridges, etc.
Just today I mailed to a cousin of mine a package for his kids with notebooks, pencils, an old calculator, a comic book and other things. I figured they could use it. I try to do that at least once a year with them. I’m giving something without any thought of immediate gain, simply hoping the kids will enjoy it.
I've done it!!!
4 comments:
Oh man, I'm guilty of the occasional Wal-mart trip too. I honestly couldn't stand our Wal-mart for a long time. In the last few months they've upgraded to a Super Wal-mart and it is freaking amazing! The store is huge, clean, well stocked, and cheap - sometimes that's just impossible to pass up!
:-D
I can't bring myself to walk into a Wal-Mart... although, my reasons are based more on the stupidity of the people working there than for ethical reasons. I do, however, go to Target (and that's an understatement).
Yay for you!
*Steps onto soap box.*
Regarding Wal-Mart: Agreed with don't call me ma'am in that I don't want to go there because GAH! the annoying crowds, but it's actually a reasonably environmentally conscious company. There've been disputes, of course, in the past with labor, but they are for the most part resolved, and Wal-Mart's done a 180 on a lot of issues. In fact, Target is more guilty of some labor disputes than is Wal-Mart....they've just somehow escaped the press because LOOK how friendly they appear.
I don't know why I feel the need to defend Wal-Mart.
So shop there with a guilt-free conscience. You'll need it to look past the mishmash of messy things on all the shelves.
Preppygirl: I think that we all, at some point in time, step foot in there - for certain things they do have good prices, and here there are certain things we can only find there.
DCMM: Thanks! Totally agree with you on the people working there, not always the sharpest knives in the drawer! ...we don't have Target, BUT we have Zellers' which we regularly visit.
whinger: Unlike a lot of people in Québec, I have no issue with the cie as such - there was a big legal thing here because Wal-Mart closed a store (in Jonquière) that had unionized employees (their first!). A lot of people started boycotting the chain... We don't go there often mostly because it's too crowded and we don't do crowds well, PLUS like I told DCMM, their staff is ...well... at times a litle... slow and I hate it when a store looks messy/dirty... not inviting!
Thanks - you can put your soap box away now! ;-)
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